A Correction Method for the Motion Measurement of the Ship-Borne Mechanical Platform Based on Multi-Sensor Fusion

Abstract

In order to perform multi-degree-of-freedom motion measurements of marine machinery, such as ship-borne mechanical platforms, in an absolute environment without a reference, absolute measurement methods using acceleration sensors and tilt gyroscopes are typically employed. However, the influence of wave forces on ship-borne mechanical platforms can cause coupling between different degrees of freedom, resulting in significant measurement disturbances that make efficient computation and real-time analysis challenging. To address these challenges, a correction method for the motion measurement of the ship-borne mechanical platform based on multi-sensor fusion is proposed by analyzing the influence of the inclination angle of the ship-borne mechanical platform on the sensor measurement based on the working principles of the acceleration sensor and angle sensor. In this article, we first analyzed the influence of the inclination angle on the integral effect in the heave direction. Then, we proposed a configuration using four groups of acceleration sensors to correct the integral effect. Finally, the optimal inclination angle is determined through Kalman filtering based on the measured values of the angle sensors and estimated values from the acceleration sensor sets. Experiments have proved that the average error of the corrected heave displacement signal is 25.34 mm, which is better than the integral displacement signal of a single acceleration sensor. At the same time, we use the acceleration sensor to calculate the roll angle and pitch angle of the ship-borne mechanical platform and combine it with the angle sensor signal to perform Kalman filtering. This filters out the errors caused by the shaking and instability of the mechanical platform and can more accurately estimate the true inclination of the platform. Therefore, this method can enhance the precision and accuracy of ship-borne mechanical platform motion signal acquisition, providing more valuable experimental data for research in marine engineering and related fields.